June 2 is World Doughnut Day, not only Fish and Chip Day, two favourite foods of many. Doughnut Day has been celebrated since 1938, starting off as a fundraiser for The Salvation Army in Chicago during the Great Depression. Even now many doughnut drives raise money for charities, so you can eat all you like for a good cause.
During World War I a group of Salvation Army volunteers was dispatched to the frontlines with the mission of providing comforting meals for the troops. They soon found out that donuts were an effective way to provide food while navigating the difficulties of cooking in very dire circumstances. These brave volunteers would later be known as “donut lassies”. They would even use war helmets as a utensil to fry up seven donuts at a time.
Doughnuts or the shorter form donuts have become a very popular feature of children's books, probably because this sugary snack tastes wonderful. The Mr Panda books by Steve Antony are always on loan especially with the preschoolers and the doughnuts in these books certainly look appealing. They even feature on clothing.
If you would like to read about the history of the donut try these books:
• Doughnuts: The Hole Story by Julie Knutson
• Doughnuts: Our Favourite Food by Joanne Mattern
• The Hole Story of the Doughnut by Pat Miller and Vincent Kirsch
Now just read for fun:
• Donuts the Hole Story by David W. Miles
• Daisy the Donut Fairy by Tim Bugbird.
• If You Give a Dog a Donut by Laura Numeroff
• The Donut Chef by Bob Staarke.
• Doughnut Danger by Anthony Masters
